Alexander Sarazen

As an avid hockey player growing up in Plattsburgh, New York, Alexander Sarazen played tournaments throughout Massachusetts. He followed the success of the UMass Lowell men's ice hockey team and enjoyed the Boston area.

So when he was deciding where to earn his exercise science degree, Sarazen headed to UMass Lowell.

“UMass Lowell was everything I could have imagined,” says Sarazen, who played hockey since the age of 3 and joined the men’s club ice hockey team at UML.

He also landed an internship with the university’s athletics sports performance department, helping athletes reduce injuries and realize their potential.

“I really enjoyed working with athletes during my internships and appreciated the support and advice I received from faculty,” he says.

Sarazen initially thought he wanted to become a physical therapist, but he changed his mind after exploring other professions.

“When I talked with Assoc. Teaching Prof. Kyle Coffey about possible careers, he suggested that I look into chiropractic school, and the profession resonated with me,” says Sarazen. “I can integrate direct-access healthcare with strength and conditioning and evidence-based principles.”

After graduating from the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Port Orange, Florida, Sarazen worked for two years as an associate chiropractor and director of strength and conditioning at an established clinic in Madison, Alabama, a suburb of Huntsville. And then opportunity struck.

“A chiropractor who owned a chiropractic clinic was retiring and asked if I was interested in opening my own sports-based practice,” says Sarazen, who took over her practice in December 2022.

He works mostly with athletes, including the Huntsville Havoc, a minor league ice hockey team.

As Sarazen set up his practice, he recalled his own internships in college, especially one during his senior year with Mike Boyle Strength Conditioning in Woburn, Massachusetts.

“The Mike Boyle internship was very competitive, and I was very lucky and humbled to get that,” says Sarazen, who notes that players from Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, as well as Olympians, train at the facility.

His real-world experiences at UML prompted him to reach out to faculty at the University of Alabama in Huntsville to offer internships for their students. A few months later, a faculty member asked him to teach two classes. He’s now a full-time lecturer in the Department of Kinesiology.

Still in his 20s, Sarazen teaches college classes, treats hockey players before home games and sees about 50 to 60 patients per week.

“I’m very busy, but this is all worth it,” he says. “I love what I do every day. I have the flexibility to make it work, and it all started with the experiences and advice I received at UMass Lowell.”